Thursday, May 14, 2015

The Chariot and Othala – I am going Home

The Wild Unknown TarotThe Chariot. Runes. OthalaFor today I’ve drawn the Rune Othala (home, destination) as an indication of the energy and focus of this day and The Chariot from the Wild Unknown Tarot  to elaborate on how to manifest  this Othala feeling.
Coincidentally this morning I've read a great reading by Zanna fromt Tarot Notes about where and what home is.
Often Home is not a place but  more a feeling of contentment either being with yourself or with the people you love. We are social beings and how much some of us (including me) like to be alone we do need the interaction with other people.  Othala is the last Rune from the Futhark. Just like The World is from the Major Arcana. Having a secure home, a family, a place to live together , to grow old was the ultimate goal of the old tribes. It secured the people of food, safety and a place to raise their children. While  Fehu (first Rune) is more  about the possession of a house;the physical building, Othala  is more about what is going inside: the emotional and spiritual well-being of the inhabitants
Nowadays we still think of our Home as more than a place to live in; we have to feel safe and comfortable there, This is the place where we can be our truest self. Here we can take of our masks we wear in the outside world.
So how do we get to this place, this  feeling and this state of mind we call Home? There comes The Chariot. We have to mount our horse and go on our quest with a strong will and determination to reach our goal. Or perhaps we have to be this horse. This powerful independent creature who knows intuitively where it is heading where the stable is. In this card we see only one horse which speaks to me of certainty and of knowing my way Home

Personally I think Othala is not a place to be found but only to be experienced as a sense of safety in community, a sense of belonging and being at peace. And when this feeling  fleets we mount our horse again; always on our way, always learning , changing and growing

10 comments:

  1. Home is where we make it, I've been observing office desks lately. I've never seen one that didn't have something personal on it, often sort of bizarre...

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    1. I've always used some of my own things as decoration for my classroom. Sometimes as simple as a potted plant or a shell on my desk

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  2. Having just moved to a new house (hours from the home I've known my whole life), I can completely relate to this "feeling" you speak of. Everything is so unfamiliar on the outside that it is really important for me to keep my inner home strong. It will take time...but soon enough this new area will be home too.

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    1. I am sure it will. You will make some beautiful new memories and friends there. I've moved to my current home a long to ago and it took me quite a while to feel really at home here but now it feels more like home than my old place.ever did :D

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  3. This is a touching post Ellen and really resonates with me. I remember seeing on a bulletin board in a retreat house that I would go to twice a year for about 15 years. I would always read it every time I arrived, and it always gave me great comfort. It spoke of how everyone needs to have a spiritual home. This has always stayed with me. Though I don't attend these retreats any more, but I have come to understand the meaning of this definition of home. I know I am responsible for finding that home. Being willing to get on that horse and take the journey to find that destination home.

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    1. Thanks Catherine I am glad it did. My spiritual home feels sometimes a bit shaky but it feels still like home. Just like the worn wooden floors and the dents in the door frames make my house more mine.

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  4. I agree with Zanna - it is a feeling rather than a place. I've been in houses where I lived with other people but did not feel any sense of safety, belonging or peace there. You described the "homey" feeling perfectly with those three characteristics. Lovely post, Ellen. :)

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    1. Thanks Bev! I was really moved by Zanna's reading and because of that extra surprised when my rune for today turned out to be Othala :)
      I love those little synchronicities!

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  5. I saw your blog post as I was sitting here humming the song "I'm Going Home" by the native singing group Ulali. It's about connecting with your "home", your ancestors' land, even long after the landscape has changed and been developed into something very different than it was in the past. It's about remembering history, and what home really means, which is so nice with your post and writing about how home is not so much a place as it is an experience.

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    1. Thank you for this this addition to my post. Ancestors, yes they to add to the feeling of being at home; connecting us to land and culture. Lately I am reading a lot about the Germanic pantheon and tribes and I love how I can still find their traces in today's language and culture of my country.

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